Federal agency decisions, searchable in plain English.
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) and mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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The Doe Run Company v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. The Doe Run Company
The Doe Run Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC CENT 2016-283 RM, et al.): Amended escapeway settlement preserves one penalty docket
MSHA cited five Doe Run mines under 30 C.F.R. § 57.11050(a), alleging that two escapeways were not provided from all working areas. Doe Run argued that the two-escapeway requirement applied only to the mines' lowest levels, and the parties completed a four-day trial before settling. Under the…
The Doe Run Company v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. The Doe Run Company
The Doe Run Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC CENT 2016-283 RM, et al.): Original escapeway settlement later corrected
MSHA cited five Doe Run mines under 30 C.F.R. § 57.11050(a), alleging that two escapeways were not provided from all working areas. Doe Run argued that the requirement applied only to the mines' lowest levels, and the parties completed a four-day trial before reaching a comprehensive settlement…
Secretary of Labor obo Ronald Bowersox v. The Marshall County Coal Co., et al.
Secretary of Labor obo Ronald Bowersox v. The Marshall County Coal Co., et al. (FMSHRC WEVA 2016-400, et al.): Judge denies Murray Energy's motion for her recusal
These five consolidated cases are interference complaints under section 105(c) of the Mine Act against mines operated by Murray Energy. The complaints allege the companies interfered with miners' rights by filing a federal lawsuit in retaliation for miners taking safety complaints to MSHA rather…
Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC
Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC VA 2012-397): Unsupported settlement rejected before later contest withdrawal
The Secretary proposed deleting the significant and substantial designation from a citation and reducing its penalty from $971 to $500. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that the settlement motion supplied no facts supporting either change, as required by Commission Rule 31. He rejected the motion and…
What these documents are
- Commission decisions: Rulings by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission itself, the highest level of agency review. These are citable as Commission precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by OSHRC Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.
- Why finality matters: Every page here says which kind of decision you are reading, so you know whether it is precedent you can cite or a final order that only shows how one judge ruled on one set of facts.
- Where they come from: Every page links the official OSHRC public release, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.